To Holiday Beachgoers, 70 Feels Just Heavenly

It Was Brisk By South Florida Standards, But Tourists Love It

The thermometer on Christmas hovered around 70 degrees on Hollywood Beach, brisk by South Florida standards. The sun only occasionally poked through whispy clouds.

But to Reynard St. Arnold, a dairy farmer from Quebec City, Canada, the air felt warm and toasty.

St. Arnold spent the holiday afternoon sitting in a canvas chair working on a tan, stripped down to a multicolored Speedo swimsuit.

"In Quebec, it's cold and snowy," St. Arnold, 46, said in French with a smile. "Here, it's hot. You can't wear a swimsuit today in Quebec."

On Christmas Day, there were few places in the country besides South Florida where people could wear swimsuits - without throwing long underwear, raincoats or down parkas over them.

California, where sunshine is a state of mind, was buffeted by heavy rains in the lowlands and blizzards in the high Sierras. New England was lashed by hurricane force winds.

But South Florida was the real sunshine state on Noel or Navidad or whatever the word for Christmas was among thousands of tourists who thronged the outdoors to bask in what for them was unseasonable heat.

Many were drawn to Broward's Atlantic shores, despite the loss of tons of sand due to recent storms.

Most of the beachside strollers were dressed in modest shorts and sweatshirts. A few warm-blooded women wore skimpy bikinis.

Jessie and Ari Borinsky, of Morristown, N.J., wore swimsuits and sweatshirts. They bought the sweatshirts after taking a swim in the ocean at Hollywood beach, where the surf temperature was 77 degrees. Ari, 8, said he felt a little cold after the dip.

"But that's probably because I'm eating ice cream," he said.

Jessie, 10, said her friends in New Jersey were jealous that she got to be in the warm weather, even if it's only for a week.

Her neighbors phoned on Sunday to ask if they could put food in the Borinsky's generator-powered refrigerator. A windstorm had knocked out the power in the New Jersey neighborhood.

Jessie and Ari's mother, Rayni Borinsky, said Sunday's surf temperature was too chilly for her blood. But it beats the Northeast in winter.

There will be more of the same for the Borinskys today. The forecast calls for partly sunny skies, highs near 70 and gentle winds from the north.

"We'll be back here in February for the next school vacation," Rayni Borinsky said.